SC asks Govt to go after sources of black money

A bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy directed the Union government not to restrict its probe only to the tax evasion aspect, but to go after the sources of blackmoney.

The bench expressed concern that the blackmoney stashed in banks abroad might have originated from arms deals, drug trafficking and smuggling. It also wanted to know what action is being taken against individuals who had crores of rupees in foreign banks.

A bench headed by Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy directed the government to file its response by Thursday next. The court also sought replies from the government, RBI and CVC on a petition seeking direction to the government to ratify UN convention on corruption which would facilitate in bringing back blackmoney from foreign banks.

The government, however, submitted that it is taking action under international agreements and the law against the erring persons and it has no problems in sharing the information with the court